I loved it all because it was so familiar--it was like PJ et al had climbed into my head (especially with the Nazgul) and put it all on-screen. If they could only be 100% (or nearly 100%) about one of them, I'm glad it was LotR, my favorite.

After looking at Kili, I may have to just enjoy The Hobbit as a Middle-earth movie of someone else's vision. Rivendell and Bag End we've already seen shots of, and they look basically the same. Most of the Dwarves so far look basically like the dwarves I've always thought of. But with much more of the "Kili factor" and I probably won't be loving The Hobbit because it is a visual of my view, it'll definitely be someoneelse's view. But I'm gonna love it anyway.

...the look of the Dwarves leads me into anticipating that Jackson and Co. will dump the cookie-cutter Elvish look and introduce some more serious non-hawt-ish variations among Elven-kind.

Picture the uproar over the release of a photo of a short dark-haired rather overweight Elf. (Like, say, the Elven-King's Butler?)

Oh, this is going to be so much fun!

But alas, the fun is destined to fade when, in the end, the concensus will be "They're perfect!" ****************************************** Brothers, sisters, I was Elf once. We danced together Under the Two Trees. We sang as the soft gold of Laurelin And the bright silver of Telperion, Brought forth the dawn of the world. Then I was taken.

Brothers, sisters, In my torment I kept faith, And I waited. But you never came. And when I returned you drew sword, And when I called your names you drew bow. Was my Eldar beauty all, And my soul nothing?

I mean, yeah, Kili is very easy on the eyes, () but the real reason I'm not getting bent out of shape over this photo (or Nori's, for that matter, which I find even more absurd and ridiculous and yuck) is because their appearances really don't matter, in the end. if the character roles are written well, they could dress in clown outfits and it would work. But if the roles are written badly, all the prosthetics and beards and stumpy legs in New Zealand aren't going to save it.

It is always those with the fewest sensible things to say who make the loudest noise in saying them. --Precious Ramotswe (Alexander McCall Smith)

Costumes could have helped them to stand out and they could have still all looked like traditional dwarves.
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Instead, they've costumed them all mostly in monotone gray, at least for the stills. Individuality could have been achieved in a different way and still conformed to the traditionalist, familiar vision, is all I'm saying. Permanent address: Into the West

The LotR movies are miles away from my mental view of Middle-Earth
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Especially Elves are completly different, Dwarves are a bit off, and the landscapes and plants are totaly un-European. Where are the birches, beeches and oaks? What are all these tussock grasses and nothofaguses? Why Gondor and Rohan are so barren? How come the Misty Mountains are nothing like the Alps of Switzerland, like Tolkien dreamt them?

And yes, I love them. For their own merits. So I'm going to love TH too. Plus, I think we should have buried Tolkien in a larger coffin, he probably cant turn very well in his. -Rossmonster

Elijah Wood was too cherubic to portray the weary fifty-year-old Frodo of the book, Hugo Weaving looked considerably less than Half-Elven, Orlando Bloom was more 'Wood' than 'Elf', and in terms of acting ability, Daniel Day-Lewis and Uma Thurman would have blown Viggo Mortensen and Miranda Otto out of the water. I've long since come to terms with the shortcomings I perceive – and as such I don't wish to get caught up in a tiresome debate with any fans of the aforementioned actors – but I don't expect I'll ever come to regard the Hobbit cast as 'perfect' either. Not by a long shot.

Yeah see that's the thing, I am not at all worried about any of the actors I know(and I know Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt and now Dean O'Gorman best) and I have little doubt the other actors would be up to similar snuff.

If I had doubts about the actors' talents or the writing(which while I don't think LOTR was perfect, I thought over all it really worked) then the looks of the characters might be more important but to me, now, with those worries out of the way, I'm content to just imagine what these "un-stereotypical" dwarven looks mean, what they represent for the dwarves as a culture on screen and to just have fun with it and if there is eye-candy to be had, well, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. :)

I mean I find it kind of fun to play with the idea of Kili maybe getting ribbed for his looks("Now, don't be mean, It's not his fault he's ugly") or maybe he's a rebellious little Dwarf "Elf Fan"(Look at that hair! You need to grow up and grow a real beard! You're a dwarf dammit! Not some pansy elf!). :) And to me that sort of thing(if not that exactly) allows for showing how dwarves are as "real people" with all the sorts of quirks and weirdnesses that real people have rather than just representatives of the race. I don't think any of it would actually play a huge role in the film anyway so there isn't really anything to get that upset about.

And as I said, overall the reactions I've seen have been pretty positive to all the picture releases and for the most part the worst that is said is "Ah well, it's just one out of 13". :)

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I mean, yeah, Kili is very easy on the eyes, () but the real reason I'm not getting bent out of shape over this photo (or Nori's, for that matter, which I find even more absurd and ridiculous and yuck) is because their appearances really don't matter, in the end. if the character roles are written well, they could dress in clown outfits and it would work. But if the roles are written badly, all the prosthetics and beards and stumpy legs in New Zealand aren't going to save it.

Peter Jackson's view of Middle-earth has never been mine
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but I found a way to allow the difference and in time even love the difference. The Hobbit movies are going to be a rip-roarin' adventure and a new view of my favorite fantasy world. I think it is destined to be great cinema. Kangi Ska Resident Trickster & Wicked White Crebain Life is an adventure, not a contest.

Fortunately, so far, Kili is the only one that draws me back into the real world. Hopefully even he will blend in when the movie becomes a movie, and not just a set of promo stills. Permanent address: Into the West

and since I had never read the LOTR books before PJ's adaption I adopted his LOTR as the one I imagined. The Hobbit may be different for me because I have read the book and imagined my own 'hobbit world'. I'lll test that statement December 2012. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to you...

In the early days there was speculation here about how many dwarves would be cast. Surely not the full 13? Would some be female?

Ohhhhh.....I get it now. Kili is a female dwarve. The length of the beard should have tipped us off. If they change the spelling of her name to Keely I think they can pull it off. NOT!!! “There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep ... that have taken hold.”

(You and I actually *agree* on something??? The Apocalypse is near!!!) ****************************************** Brothers, sisters, I was Elf once. We danced together Under the Two Trees. We sang as the soft gold of Laurelin And the bright silver of Telperion, Brought forth the dawn of the world. Then I was taken.

Brothers, sisters, In my torment I kept faith, And I waited. But you never came. And when I returned you drew sword, And when I called your names you drew bow. Was my Eldar beauty all, And my soul nothing?

I have particular dislike for the drag queen looking effiminate Elves.

And yet nobody whines about them, thought it's pretty obvious they don't look what Tolkien ment Elves to look like. (Elves and Humans are practically the same species, and are only identified from each other by their eyes and voice.)

But all this time I've felt people are really less butthurt that the Dwarves are "different than in the books" than they're butthurt about them being "diffefrent than in LotR movies" Plus, I think we should have buried Tolkien in a larger coffin, he probably cant turn very well in his. -Rossmonster